Lionel Messi storms straight down tunnel as Inter Miami teammates celebrate New York Red Bulls win
Lionel Messi was not in the mood to celebrate Inter Miami’s 4-1 win over New York Red Bulls. Messi scored Miami’s fourth with a stunning effort in the 67th minute to seal the win. Messi headed straight down after Inter Miami’s winX - @FrancoPanizo It snapped a three-game losing streak across all competitions for the team, with Fafa Picault, Marcelo Weingandt and Luis Suarez also on the score sheet. However, after the final whistle Messi headed straight down the tunnel at the Chase Stadium as his teammates celebrated. No official explanation has been given for why the 37-year-old opted to head straight to the dressing room. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner had been struggling during the second half with what looked like fatigue. At one point he dropped his hands to his knees in front of the Miami bench. Inter Miami have played eight games in April thanks to their run in the Concacaf Champions Cup. “We needed this victory after three defeats, and to have some very good feelings again,” head coach Javier Mascherano said in Spanish postgame. “In the first half, we had an effectiveness that we haven’t had in several games, not just that we had a lot of [goalscoring] situations. “And then we attempted in the second half with the last post entries, to manage the ball better, to control the match better, not to be as direct, because the last 15, 20 minutes of the first half, we lost possession of the ball, they grew and they progressed on the field, and we were trying to avoid giving them the control of the game.” It comes after a difficult week for Miami where they suffered a ConcaChampions exit at the hands of Vancouver Whitecaps. View Tweet: https://twitter.com/hashtag/InterMiamiCF?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Messi has 63 goal contributions in 53 games for Inter MiamiGetty “Clearly, in everything that we compete, we try to get to the highest position possible. We have shown this in the Champions [Cup],” said Mascherano. “Sometimes we have to understand that you have an opponent; the opponent plays. Sometimes the opponent does better, like Vancouver did. “Sometimes public opinion is to analyse the results. We analyse more than the results: the content, the why. “I understand that there’s a lot of frustration. The one who is the most frustrated is me, is the coaching staff and the players not being able to go to the final.” Miami now move up to fourth in the Eastern Conference of the MLS and have important Club World Cup games, starting next month. “We will try to continue to do our best. We will try to learn from our mistakes. And we will continue saying that this team can compete, and we are going to face anything that comes before us,” said Mascherano. Messi was approached by a young fan during Miami’s win – that ended a three game losing streakGetty “Today we’re here to focus on MLS, trying to get to the top of this conference, and then we’ll see what happens with Club World Cup, Leagues Cup. “The most important game, I’ve said from the beginning, is the next one, and so we’ll be focused on next weekend.”
Lionel Messi was not in the mood to celebrate Inter Miami’s 4-1 win over New York Red Bulls.
Messi scored Miami’s fourth with a stunning effort in the 67th minute to seal the win.
It snapped a three-game losing streak across all competitions for the team, with Fafa Picault, Marcelo Weingandt and Luis Suarez also on the score sheet.
However, after the final whistle Messi headed straight down the tunnel at the Chase Stadium as his teammates celebrated.
No official explanation has been given for why the 37-year-old opted to head straight to the dressing room.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner had been struggling during the second half with what looked like fatigue.
At one point he dropped his hands to his knees in front of the Miami bench.
Inter Miami have played eight games in April thanks to their run in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
“We needed this victory after three defeats, and to have some very good feelings again,” head coach Javier Mascherano said in Spanish postgame.
“In the first half, we had an effectiveness that we haven’t had in several games, not just that we had a lot of [goalscoring] situations.
“And then we attempted in the second half with the last post entries, to manage the ball better, to control the match better, not to be as direct, because the last 15, 20 minutes of the first half, we lost possession of the ball, they grew and they progressed on the field, and we were trying to avoid giving them the control of the game.”
It comes after a difficult week for Miami where they suffered a ConcaChampions exit at the hands of Vancouver Whitecaps.
“Clearly, in everything that we compete, we try to get to the highest position possible. We have shown this in the Champions [Cup],” said Mascherano.
“Sometimes we have to understand that you have an opponent; the opponent plays. Sometimes the opponent does better, like Vancouver did.
“Sometimes public opinion is to analyse the results. We analyse more than the results: the content, the why.
“I understand that there’s a lot of frustration. The one who is the most frustrated is me, is the coaching staff and the players not being able to go to the final.”
Miami now move up to fourth in the Eastern Conference of the MLS and have important Club World Cup games, starting next month.
“We will try to continue to do our best. We will try to learn from our mistakes. And we will continue saying that this team can compete, and we are going to face anything that comes before us,” said Mascherano.
“Today we’re here to focus on MLS, trying to get to the top of this conference, and then we’ll see what happens with Club World Cup, Leagues Cup.
“The most important game, I’ve said from the beginning, is the next one, and so we’ll be focused on next weekend.”
